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Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.
- The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid
Purpose. In the weeks that followed the death of Billy the...
- Brushy Bill Roberts
Brushy Bill Roberts (August 26, 1879 – December 27, 1950;...
- Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid
Plot. In 1909, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, Pat Garrett is...
- Fort Sumner, New Mexico
Fort Sumner is a village in and the county seat of De Baca...
- John Tunstall
John Henry Tunstall (6 March 1853 – 18 February 1878) was an...
- Lincoln County War
The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between...
- Dave Rudabaugh
David Rudabaugh (July 14, 1854 – February 18, 1886) was a...
- Doc Scurlock
Scurlock accidentally shot and killed his friend, Mike G....
- Buckshot Roberts
Andrew L. "Buckshot" Roberts (c. 1831 – April 5, 1878) was...
- Alexander McSween
Early life. Of Scottish descent, Alexander Anderson McSween...
- The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid
- 3 min
- He was orphaned as a teen. Little is known about Billy the Kid’s early days, but he was most likely born Henry McCarty in the Irish slums of New York City sometime in late 1859.
- The Kid’s first arrest came for stealing clothes from a laundry. Henry McCarty’s first run-in with the law came in 1875 when he assisted a local street tough known as “Sombrero Jack” in stealing clothing from a Chinese laundry.
- He played a prominent role in a frontier feud. Billy the Kid first earned his reputation as a gunslinger in 1878, when he participated in a bloody frontier war in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
- The Kid never robbed a train or a bank. Billy The Kid shooting down his foe who had taken refuge behind a saloon bar. Unlike other Old West outlaws such as Jesse James, Cole Younger or Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid didn’t make his living as a bandit.
May 2, 2007 · The young cowboy was a small-time rustler and not particularly sought by the law. He was using the name William H. Bonney, but everyone called him “Kid.” No more than 20 years old, probably younger, Kid had experienced a lot of action in his short life.
The Kid assumes the alias William H. Bonney. He is arrested and jailed in Lincoln County for possessing horses belonging to cattleman John Tunstall.
Apr 17, 2024 · Billy the Kid, American outlaw who became one of the most notorious gunfighters of the American West. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10. At about age 21, he was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Learn more about Billy the Kid’s life.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Henry McCarty (November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881) was better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases Henry Antrim and William Harrison Bonney. He was a nineteenth century American frontier outlaw and gunman who was a participant in the Lincoln County War.
Apr 9, 2015 · On this day, April 9, in 1881, the outlaw who was born Henry McCarty before adopting the alias William H. Bonney — better known as Billy the Kid — was found guilty of murdering the sheriff of...